One last push for summer produce!

It's objectively true: fruits and veggies just taste better in the summertime. The sooner it can travel from the vine to your mouth, the fresher, more flavorful, and crunchier/juicier it is! Hey, fresh produce even has more nutrients packed in! 

Whether your produce travels from your own garden, your neighbor the farmer, or your local supermarket, summer is the best time to enjoy the best nature has to offer. 

Speaking of your own garden, what do you think: Will we have time to plant and harvest another round of lettuce or radishes? Start them today and find out! Last call!

• Have you gotten your fill of fresh, sweet corn on the cob?
• Have you exhausted the supply of sun-ripened tomatoes?
• Have you marveled at how unbelievably SWEET bell peppers are in the summertime?

If not, take advantage by stirring up this easy corn, tomato, and bean salad.  

• 1 can chickpeas
• 4 ears of corn
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 1 sweet bell pepper, any color
• 1 lime
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup torn herbs (try basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, etc.)

1. Drain, rinse and pat dry your can of chickpeas
2. Cut the corn off the cob
•  TIP: Prop the end of the cob in a wide, deep, bowl as you cut it off to catch flying kernels and keep the mess down.
• TIP: No need to cook it- sweet corn is extra sweet raw in a salad!
3. Slice each cherty tomato in half, and sprinkle them lightly with salt 
• TIP: use a serrated knife to get through the skin of the tomato without squashing out all the juice
• TIP: salting your tomatoes early allows some chemical magic to happen. After just a few minutes, the salt breaks down the cell walls of the tomato and starts to release delicious aromatic compounds, bringing out the flavor of the tomato!
4. Chop your pepper 
5. Mix together chickpeas, corn kernels, tomatoes, and pepper in a large bowl
6. Zest and juice your lime into the other ingredients
• TIP: Use a microplane to scrape off the thin layer of green on the outside of the lime, but try not to scrape any of the white part (the pith) because it's bitter!
• TIP: If you don't have a citrus juicer, stick a spoon in the lime and squeeze the outside with your hands around the spoon
7. Drizzle the 3 tbsp of olive oil on the salad, and add the feta and torn herbs. Toss gently with a spoon. 
8. Taste and adjust! 
• TIP: consider if it needs more salt to bring out the flavor, lime for a punch of flavor when it hits your mouth, olive oil for mouthfeel and richness, or even some red pepper flakes for heat!
• Taste as you add salt - the salt should make the flavors of the tomatoes and corn pop, but the salad should not taste salty.